Organoclays are promising alternative adsorbents for the removal of organic pollutants. The aromatic hydrocarbons benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) are typical petroleum contaminants found simultaneously in natural leaking. Therefore, investigations on multi-component adsorption become essential to...

Organoclays are promising alternative adsorbents for the removal of organic pollutants. The aromatic hydrocarbons benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) are typical petroleum contaminants found simultaneously in natural leaking. Therefore, investigations on multi-component adsorption become essential to study this issue. Based on that, in the present study, a commercial organoclay from Brazil has been tested for its adsorption potential for binary aqueous mixtures of BTX. Kinetic and equilibrium batch adsorption experiments were performed to elucidate the differences in the affinities between the BTX contaminants and the organoclay. The kinetic study indicated that for benzene-toluene, benzene-xylene, and toluene-xylene systems the contaminants preferentially adsorbed were toluene, p-xylene, and p-xylene (in the beginning of the assays), respectively. The affinity for the organoclay might be related to physicochemical properties of BTX. In the adsorption equilibrium studies, the obtained BTX isotherms were all linear, characterized by constant adsorption affinities. The observed differences between BTX adsorption capacities at equilibrium for mono and bi-component systems confirmed the competition for adsorption sites of the organoclay

CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQ

300986/2013-0

COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPES

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